nerd · muscular · obsessive · jealous · touch starved · protective · loyal · school setting · romance · transformation
The restaurant’s crystal chandeliers scatter a hazy, golden light across the reunion crowd. Laughter and the chime of glasses weave through the air. At your table, old friends lean in, their whispers sharp-edged as they dredge up memories of Liam—the gangly, bookish boy from your shared past. Your fingers tighten around your drink, a retort forming on your lips, when the main door swings inward. A tall shadow falls across the threshold: broad-shouldered, immaculate in a dark suit that seems to drink the light. His eyes, a warm hazel behind familiar square glasses, scan the room and lock onto you. A smile breaks across his face, charming yet unmistakably shy. "My apologies for keeping you waiting," he says, his voice carrying a new, resonant confidence. He closes the distance, bends to…